Sew-Ichigo

19 November 2012

The pattern set is perfect for beginning paper piecers and the design element is appealing to seasoned paper piecers as well as beginners. The set contains a Candy Tree, Christmas dress, NOEL, and a retro bulb. I'm thinking coasters, gift tags, placemats, pillows, valances, quilts, and on, and on!

I made a couple of gift bags with the Christmas dress and retro bulb

And Kerry and I will be giving a few tips later this week for modifying Jeni's bag pattern to include whichever Sew Very Christmas pattern you like!

15 November 2012

I so appreciate the lovely Nova and Jo for allowing me to be a part of the Liberty scrap challenge. Jo sent a beautiful parcel of liberty to me, including a mini scrap pack of liberty, and it took about two seconds for me to decide what to make.

btw, have you seen the liberty crack Jo offers in her shop? If you want to just eat it up like I do, make sure you read to the end of this post!

On to the project!

Today I'm going to give you the basics for making this flex frame frosty bag.

1. Print your pattern and piece each section then sew the sections together, matching tick lines. Make sure and leave 1/4" seam allowance around each section. If you are new to paper piecing or need a refresher, here is a free download on sew-ichigo with lots of tips.

2. Stitch around frosty with embroidery thread, within about 1/8".

3. Layer the 8"X 4/1/2" piece of linen with the frosty block, right sides together. Mark 2 1/4" from the top.

Pin and sew around the bottom of the layers, starting at the mark on the R side and ending at the mark on the L side, leaving the top section unsewn. Oh! And make sure and backstitch at the beginning and end.

4. Repeat step 3 with lining pieces, leaving a 2" opening in the bottom for turning.

5. Turn the lining piece right side out and stuff down inside the outside of the bag so the right sides are together and the top flaps line up. Pin each of the lining flaps to the linen flap it is right sides together with.

6. Sew the pinned flaps together, starting and ending stitching on each flap as close to the center stitching as possible.

7. Turn the bag right side out through the turn hole in the lining and push both flaps out, using a bone folder to get the corners turned.

8. Slip stitch hole in lining closed.

9. Push the lining down into the bag and then turn the back flap into the bag so the top seam of the flap is even with where the flap starts. Pin in place and stitch down close to the flap edge.

10. Repeat step 9 with the other flap.

11. Following the directions on your flex frame package, undo one side of the flex frame, insert one side of the flex frame into each tunnel on each flap, and replace the pin for the frame.

And there you have it! A little gift bag or ornament bag!

And now, for those that have made it all the way through, you have a chance to win a sweet liberty scrap pack (or crack pack as I call it) from Jo. Just leave a comment on this post telling me if you've paper pieced before and if you haven't, what kind of pattern design would make you want to learn to paper piece and you will be entered in a the drawing. I'll choose a name on Monday!

15 September 2012

Have you seen the new Sew-Ichigo pattern set, "back to school" yet? Kerry has a fantastically cute and super easy pencil, as well as a pencil wheel (which is just as easy). I have a capped and uncapped hi-liter available in the set. We're hoping it will make your back to school time a smoother, happier event!

We decided to make a pencil case with the patterns. Here's Kerry's:

and mine:

using Lisa's tutorial here. Kerry added such a nice touch with the lace, and I decided to off center the zip on mine. Just a tip, if you comment on this post, you will be entered into Lisa's giveaway post for two of the pattern sets if you hurry! The giveaway closes on the 17th!

On the homefront, I'm super excited to have finished this kitchen curtain:

and hanging in the window:

You might remember my popbottle curtain here? Well, I thought it would be nice to have a popsicle one too so I can switch them up occasionally. I used Ayumi's super penguin pattern available at Superbuzzy. Thank you Ayumi for such a "sweet" pattern!!

Finally, I'd like to brag on you guys a little bit! I've received a few photos of projects made with my patterns that I'd like to share! It makes me so proud to share these pics.

The lovely Julia from Singapore has shared a progress photo of her juice/sprouts quilt with Ayumi who sent it to me.

Ayumi and I worked on these patterns together for Sew Mama Sew!. Ayumi came up with the juice pattern, and I did the sprout pattern. Don't they look adorable together?

And then you all know Amber! I asked her to send these pics to me of her latte(s) to go!

I just love the fabrics she chose!!

Ok everyone, I'm off! L-man and I are going to dig a hole in the super rocky ground by our driveway for a new address sign today. Fun!

30 August 2012

For Elizabeth's quilt in the Traveling Quilts bee, she sent along neon fabrics for each of us to work with. Monica's addition is ingenious, and then Dan's addition is really cohesive, bringing it all together.

It took me a bit to figure out what my addition would be and after waffling back and forth with whether to make my hi-lighters into a block or border, I decided to go with the hi-lighter block.

The hi-lighter patterns will be available on sew-ichigo in a few weeks along with a couple of patterns by Kerry. We're putting together a back to school set that will inspire!

One more thing:

QuiltCon registration starts today! You can see a list of the classes being offered here, and lectures here.

I'll be there teaching a couple of paper piecing classes and in some of my free time, I'm going to take a class from Lotta, doing some textile printing.